With :04 left, Cornell’s stud sophomore middy beat Orange senior defenseman Steve Panarelli to the post to score the game winning goal, keeping the Big Red’s record unblemished. In a game wracked by emotional swings of momentum, Cornell figured out how to get the job done and leave with the win. The nearly 5400 in attendance Tuesday evening at the Carrier Dome saw a gem in the Salt City.

Cornell exploded out of the gate, scoring six straight before the Orange snagged a quick man-up goal with :12 left in the first quarter. The Big Red were able to build their lead out to 8-2, getting four of those goals from senior attackman David Mitchell.

But in what would be a theme of the night, it seemed about halfway through the second quarter Cornell began looking disheveled as Syracuse scored almost at will. Lead by back-to-back Greg Niewieroski goals, the Orange took advantage of a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 8-6 Cornell at the half.

The second half was truly one for the ages. Cornell senior attackman Henry Bartlett opened scoring off a feed from fellow senior attackman Eric Pittard. But the Orange put together another four goal run, interspersed by two Cornell goals, to bring the game to at 10-10 tie with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

Tension seeped through the air and the Dome crowd exploded with the emotional twists and turns of the game. A healthy showing of Cornell fans (Ithaca is just an hour southwest of Syracuse), and the growing presence of ‘Cuse students at games provided an almost electric atmosphere to the final minutes of play. By the close of the third quarter, Cornell was holding fast on a 13-12 lead.

It seemed Cornell might close the door with about 11 minutes left in the fourth. After Goals by John Glynn (assist from Pittard) and Casey Lewis gave the Big Red a 15-12 lead. Both teams rushed up and down the field, but miscues and huge saves thwarted scores on both ends.

With four minutes on the clock, conjuring memories of last year’s overtime thrill that went the Orange’s way, Syracuse mounted their comeback. Niewieroski started the push off an assist from Matt Abbott with 3:42 left. Dan Hardy added another 19 seconds later off an assist from Mike Leveille.

After another exchange of possessions, Syracuse found itself with a chance to score and less than a minute to go. After working the ball around and getting very little space for shots, Steven Brooks took it upon himself, rolling in and ripping a shot that found the twine with 28 ticks left.

Off the melee of the ensuing faceoff, Cornell was able to gain a possession deep in Orange territory. Coaches Jeff Tambroni and John Desko exchanged timeouts, and Cornell’s Max Seibald was giving the ball on the low wing with just eight seconds remaining in the game. Once the whistle blew, Seibald broke to the corner, easily beating an out of position Steve Panarelli. With no slide help coming, Seibald was able to layout and tuck a shot right around Syracuse goalie Pete Coluccini for the game winner with :04 left.

The faceoff was a formality, and as the ball rolled loose on the ground, the final seconds ticked off, the Big Red swarmed the field to celebrate their hard fought victory.

Though Syracuse dominated the faceoff X, winning 24 of 34, they could not control the pace of the game. Careless turnovers plagued the Orange yet again, and the offense went from looking automatic to inept, sometimes within two possessions.

Cornell showed they could run with anyone, as well as play the half field game. Though the final score did not show a dominating #1 team, it showed one that could get the job done and figure out a way to hang on and win.

Pittard showed how an attackman can have a very successful day by simply playing smart and being opportunistic. He finished four goals himself, and assisted on another three. Mitchell’s numbers were almost as good, scoring four and dishing two. Goalie Matt McMonagle wasn’t a wall, but he held his ground in many spots, putting up 11 stops.

Though Seibald’s highlight was obviously his last second heroics, it was his ability to assume different roles that spoke to his growing maturity. Usually a major scoring threat, he showed his balance, being satisfied to instead assist three goals and not tally one for himself. But at the end of the game, when his team needed a goal, Seibald assumed the role of the workhorse. With the speed and confidence of his move towards cage, Seibald never seemed to doubt he was going to score.

Niewieroski led all scorers on the day with five goals, while Brooks had three and an assist. The most impressive effort of the day on the Orange side came from Coluccini, who played out of his mind, tallying 22 saves, a few of which he had no business making. The end seemed a bitter but telling sign to the Orange defense: your goalie can have your back all day and make up for mistakes, but he can’t save you every time.

Syracuse stays put, playing Rutgers in the Dome on Sunday afternoon at 1:00. The Orange will need to win out its remaining four games to make the postseason.

Cornell travels to Dartmouth Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 match-up. A win against Princeton the week after should make them the Ivy League Champs, again.

Classic upstate rivalry results in a classic game. I thought my Orange were absolutely sunk when they went down 6-0, but they played with great heart and a sense of urgency that has been lacking all year. Coluccini played a gritty game, and while people will still talk about how bad he is or how he's real shakey at times, he came up HUGE for SU tonight, on a night where the defense didn't help him at all. The first 6 goals of the game were scored DIRECTLY on the crease, as were a majority of Cornell's later goals.

Just some thoughts on the game:

-SU is most likely dunzo. A hard fought effort against Cornell still resulted in a loss, meaning they have to win 4/4 for the season, with the final game against Albany casting a huge doubt over this team's tournament aspirations. They go 4-0 from here on out, they are definitely in. One slip-up though, we're going to have an Orange-less tournament. I'm sure all you orange haters out there are drooling at this thought, but as "unfair" as it may seem to some that SU has been in 23/24 final fours in the last 24 years, i still say their presence in the tournament is a good thing for the sport. However, in the end, i see a very hungry Albany team playing with great chemistry beating SU in the dome. Too little too late for SU, shoulda beaten army, loyola, etc...

-Max Seibald is an animal. Not as physically dominating as a Kyle Dixon or a Paul Rabil, but the kid has unreal skills, a great lacrosse IQ, and great heart. His only goal tonight was just picture perfect, and despite Pete's complaints, i'm pretty sure he cleared the crease with his leap. Cornell fans, be thankful you get to watch him for two more years

-Greg Niewieroski (yeah, i had to look that spelling up) had a big game, but i haven't seen somebody score 5 goals in a big game so quietly.

-Steve Brooks is continuing his tremendous season coming off a nasty knee injury, an i think he will be at least a second team all-american this year. He's a real nice guy, too.

-Cornell is nowhere near as dominating or intimidating as Virginia's team last year, but they will win the '07 title. Why? They play smart, they have great team chemistry, and they get goals and stops when they need them. SU threw the kitchen sink at them tonight and dominated faceoffs, and Cornell still managed to cause 27 turnovers, score 16 goals, and take 50 or so shots. Their offense is reallly crisp and they move constantly off the ball, and those kids don't mess around when the ball is on the ground. They really get after it and wreak havoc on transition. If Coluccini didn't make 22 stops, bloooowout.

-McGonagle was impressive, but not even the best player on his own team. Please, stop the McGonagle for Tewaaraton talk. He's just not the best player in college lacrosse this year. I think this could be the first year that the trophy goes to a non-championship winning player

-Most maddening part of the game - how does Desko NOT CALL A TIMEOUT as soon as Jerome picks up the ball off the last faceoff? They had one left and he had 3 guys on him...how do you not make that call? Honestly? The game could have gone either way even if he had, but at least SU would have had a shot to set something up at the end. What a horrible horrible mistake, i can't believe that happened...

SU, boys, how can you have so much talent but produce a 3-6 season like this? chemistry and recruiting need to be major major issues this offseason.

how do you let your team down again like that. Did you not learn your lesson after being toasted for the game winner against army. TWICE you've been beaten late in the game. Why don't you worry about playing defense instead of throwing stupid checks that get you beat (remember early in the fourth quarter when you tried to a check and coluccini bailed you out.) If you played defense the way you should, you team could be 5-4 right now.

It is true that things don't look good for the Orange right now. However, even though their defense is subpar, considering that the Orange usually get better every week throughout the season, I wouldn't shut the door on their playoff chances yet. Of course, I'm sure that all 4 of their remaining opponents would love to knock the Orange out. Nevertheless, the Orange, IMHO, are very capable of winning all 4 games. Here are the 4 remaining games for the Orange, in order:

Rutgers
Albany
UMASS
Colgate

Who would have ever thought that Albany would be the favorite against Syracuse? However, I think that 'Cuse can definitely beat Albany. The #1 reason-'Cuses schedule is much, much tougher.

Once again, the Orange are against the wall, but not out by any means.

i knwo this is a little off topic but for such a huge comeback and a noise in the lacrosse world why are there so few pictures i mean with a game with intensity like this one the pictures should be in like the billions but thats just what im wondering right now